Tech to be one of 10 OVC schools to compete in ESPNs 2010 NCAA BracketBusters event

Sep 30, 2010

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team is
set to participate in ESPN's 2010 NCAA BracketBusters
event, this year to be held from Feb. 18-20. The ninth annual
event, which pits NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other, will
feature 11 nationally televised games between 22 teams selected
from a pool of 114 – the largest in the event's history thus
far.

TTU will join all of its eligible OVC counterparts in the pool
of teams participating in the event, marking the fifth consecutive
year that every OVC school has attended. Tech will serve as one of
five host programs – the four others being Murray State,
Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, and UT Martin – while
Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State
and Morehead State will play road contests.

For the sixth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports
network, will televise five BracketBusters games while
ESPN or ESPN2 will televise up to six contests. The 11 televised
BracketBusters matchups will be announced Jan. 31.

BracketBusters, so named because of the success of the
participating teams in NCAA Tournament play, will provide the 22
televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference
opponents three weeks before Selection Sunday. The 92 teams not
selected for the BracketBusters TV field will compete
against each other on the same three days.

The 114-team field will feature teams from 15 conferences as
well as one independent: 12 from the Mid-American Conference and
Colonial Athletic; 10 from the Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri
Valley and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from Big Sky, Big South,
Big West and Western Athletic; eight from the Horizon League; five
from America East and Southern; two from the MEAC and West Coast;
and one from the Summit League, as well as independent Seattle.

As part of the agreement, all 11 of the BracketBusters
home teams in televised games, as well as the remaining 46 home
squads, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their
opponent in November or December of the 2012-13 season.

Listed are the Home and Away teams
that will be participating in the 2010 event, categorized by
conference. Specific match-ups will be announced on Jan. 31.

Teams participating this season in
BracketBusters have produced 74 appearances in the last
five NCAA Tournaments.